The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has signed an agreement with the International Finance Corporation (IFC) to push the adaptation of financial technologies in Asia.

Singapore`s central bank and the IFC, a World Bank Group member that is working to encourage private sector development in emerging economies, are collaborating to boost FinTech addoptation in the ASEAN region, as the recent publication in cryptocoinnews.com elaborated.

The idea is to establish a ASEAN Financial Innovation Network (AFIN), a regional network spread across south-east Asia that is to be overseen by MAS and IFC. This organization will assist the financial technology start-ups, banks and regulators with issues such as connectivity, compliance and cross-border compatibility for interoperability.

“The initiative builds on IFC’s efforts to deepen access to finance for underserved segments of the population.”, as Vivek Pathak, IFC’s Director for East Asia & the Pacific said in a press release.

“In today’s world it is feasible to reach these segments of the population at a fraction of the cost and at a speed that was not feasible earlier. New business models resulting from digital transformation of financial services and FinTech adoption in the region can create new markets that will lead to a higher level of prosperity.”, he added.

The FinTech network is said to create a “sandbox” for start-ups, banks and companies developing innovative financial technologies to test their wares.

“This industry sandbox will be a cloud-based marketplace for distribution of FinTech solutions to financial institutions located in multiple jurisdictions.”, explained MAS FinTech chief Sopnendu Mohanty.

“We hope this platform could also spur discussions among participating regulators on cross-border policy harmonization across ASEAN.”, as he told cryptocoinnews.com.